


Connection

by laraanita



Series: Digital Justice [1]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Do not post to another site, Gen, I am a terrible person, hitting a button and then being brutally murdered by the people watching me do it, implied dnf, no beta we die like wilbur, you can all blame sunset for this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 20:26:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29177133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laraanita/pseuds/laraanita
Summary: “...George?” The sound of that rasping voice, dry and rough and soft and familiar and not, all at once, has George aching to hold its owner and flee at the same time. They've stopped a short distance from the cell, still above lava, and he can see Dream shifting where he kneels, as though trying to rise but the thick heavy chains around his wrists keep him down. “What's going on?”“Dream,” George can only manage a whisper as the crushing realisation hits him. They're not going to be sharing a cell. They're not even going to be sharing a prison.
Series: Digital Justice [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2192961
Comments: 23
Kudos: 71





	Connection

They come for him in the night.

George is safe tucked up in bed, under warm blankets and soft sheets. Asleep. Comfortable.

And then there are hands on him. Hands covering his mouth, preventing a scream. Hands on his arms, preventing him from fighting back against the sudden onslaught. Hands on his legs, pulling him from his safe bed. Hands in his hair, pulling the strands until his eyes water and he can't make out more than blurry shapes in the dark and then keep pulling, dragging him.

The floor finds him, cold and unforgiving except where his face is shoved down against a rug harsh enough to leave raw angry skin behind. Some of the hands retreat, freeing his mouth long enough for him to demand, “what -” before his arms are being hauled being his back, wrenched up and bound tight in rough rope, tight enough to hamper blood flow. Cold fear floods George's veins and he struggles, kicking bare feet in a panic as the knots tighten. One foot connects with nothing but air before being grabbed and pinned harshly by a gauntleted hand, the other collides with something solid enough to hurt. Armour.

There's a harsh yank on his hair and he's pulled to his feet, unsteady, terrified, and squinting at the dark shapes around him to try and work out what is going on. He tries to push down the fear but it's impossible when he sees who is here. He sees Eret's eyes glowing in the darkness even with those shades of his on. Tommy has a hold of George's left arm in a bruising grip, a scowl on his face. Technoblade, face blank, is on his other side.

And Sam. Sam who looks him in the eyes with an almost melancholic expression before he hardens his face and nods at the others. They pull him from his bedroom, George stumbling as he's forced along. He spots Callahan at the other end of the hallway, bound and gagged on his knees with a sword at his throat. Quackity looms over his former squire and George can't help but pull against the hands holding him to reach his friend. “Call-” A fist connects with his gut and George loses all breath in his lungs, would have fell if not for the harsh grip of his captors. His eyes have given up on watering by now, loosing their tears down over his cheeks. He doesn't understand, what's going on?

He's pulled from the house, and he doesn't see what becomes of Callahan, his focus settling on the group of people who've been waiting outside for them. It's... a lot. It's almost everyone, he thinks wildly, everyone except Dream. And Sapnap, he's not there either. A cheer goes up from some of the more vocal members of their world, and George's eyes settle on Bad who's standing towards the back. Bad stares back silently, eyes glowing almost as eerily as Eret's in the darkness, and George knows he'll have no help there. He tears his eyes from his friend and looks to Sam, Sam, who was also a friend, right? A good man, a kind man. “S-Sam, what's going on?”

Sam ignores him. Doesn't even look at him. The fear spikes in him once again, sending icy shudders up his spine and into his brain. “Sam? Sam tell me what's going on!”

There's a dark laugh from Technoblade and then Tommy speaks up, sounding far too delighted with himself. “We're going on a little trip Gogy, it's gonna be brilliant.”

George is hauled forwards by the two into the crowd and George is almost immediately assaulted with cruel words from the mob, shoves from people he thought of as friends, and spat on by someone, he doesn't know who. There's a loud cackle from Tommy as the spit dribbles down George's cheek and shame coils hot in George's gut. Still he doesn't know, doesn't understand what's going on, all he can do is try and remain upright as he's dragged through the cold night air, the mob following along behind as Sam leads them through the land.

Finally it clicks as he sees the distant structure looming. Pandora's Vault. His knees go weak and he panics, struggling against the tight grip of his captors. “No – no! I haven't done anything – don't put me there-!” He cries out as something hard beats down against the back of his head, legs giving out entirely from under him. The only things keeping him upright at his guards. As he blinks the stars from his eyes and whines softly at the pain, the crowd abruptly goes quiet behind them.

“What's this?”

_Sapnap_.

George gasps a breath in and then screams for all he's worth. “SAPNAP! HELP ME!”

“George?!”

He can't see it, but he hears the sound of a blade being drawn, hears the sound of combat. His head throbs with each cry and clang and clash, but he tries to get up anyway, tries to pull himself free, tries to do something, anything.

“George!”

“Sap-!”

“Georgie-!”

There's a crash, one George knows well. It's the sound of someone in full armour hitting the stone at their feet. “No Sapnap! Leave him alone!” he pleads, struggling to turn, to look over his shoulder, to check his last friend wasn't dead at the hands of those who who've decided to betray him – betray them. His guards must want him to see, because they turn him around, Eret standing behind George to fist his hand in his hair and force him to look.

Sapnap is pinned on the floor in a manner much like George was earlier, only it's clear the mob thinks of him as more of a threat than George. There's Punz and Ponk pinning Sap down bodily, Philza kneeling with a knee pressed hard into his back and in the process of unlacing Sapnap's armour, Fundy kicking away the weapons out of reach, and Bad standing over Sapnap, trident jammed into the base of his neck. George's heart stops, for one world shattering moment thinking that Bad had plunged it deep into Sap's neck and severed his spine, but then he hears Sapnap's harsh breathing, sees the fury and hatred in Sapnap's eyes when his helm is removed by Philza, and his heart starts up again.

“You should have stayed home Sapnap,” Bad says quietly, and keeps his vigil until Philza has removed all Sapnap's armour and tossed it aside to the crowd. They bind Sapnap's arms even as he struggles and tries to kick and scratch and bite, anything to harm their captors. It's fruitless, much like Sapnap's cursing and insults. And yet even bound and tamed, when he's hauled to his feet he looks to George and shoots him a reassuring grin with a bloodied mouth.

George can only give him a watery smile back.

They're hauled into the prison and George's fear is rising once more, choking him like a solid mass in the back of his throat. Even with Sapnap muttering soft reassurances from beside him, it creeps up over him with a chilling inevitability. They're going to lock him up in this hell hole. Maybe they'll be kind enough to room him with Sapnap, since they're both being dragged in here.

The security they go through only drives home how terrifying this nightmare of a place is. George would hate it, except he can't feel more than the chilling terror settling into his bones. He's shivering despite the growing heat, breath coming in short rapid bursts like he's about to start hyperventilating.

He almost does when he sees where they're going.

“What the fuck, why are we going to Dream?” Sapnap's voice cuts through the quiet, almost cheerful chatter of the mob behind them like a knife, stilling all conversation. “...Sam?”

“You'll see,” is all the answer Sapnap gets, but it's more than George got from the warden when he asked what was going on.

George is dragged to the fall of lava, heart pounding as he thinks for a moment they're just going to toss him in and be done with it, and he's not proven wrong when Tommy drags him too close, the scorching heat almost blistering his skin. He winces and recoils from it with a pained gasp. He's spun around then, still held tight between Tommy and Techno, and in the light of the prison it's easy to see the expressions on the faces of everyone who's come with them. Hatred. Anger. Righteousness. Excitement from one or two of the more bloodthirsty ones. Sapnap is being forced down to his knees nearby, two tridents at his neck to keep him compliant. Still he tries to rise, going so far as to shove himself forwards and slice open several shallow gashes on his throat. “Don't worry George, I'll get you out, I promise!”

Already unsettled with the night's events, George finds himself doubting Sapnap for the first time in a long time. He's never done that before, never doubted Sapnap when he's promised something to him. Everything about this situation feels wrong, like he went to climb up a stairs only to find himself falling through air instead. Sam approaches then, nodding to Techno and Tommy, who drag him back onto the platform that's appeared now the lava has gone. He turned around once more, the memory of Sapnap bloody and furious and making promises he can't keep etched into his mind. He hopes they don't hurt him.

“Why are you doing this?” George asks Sam as they platform starts moving. Across the way, he can see someone kneeling on the ground behind netherite bars. Dream.

_His hair's longer than I remember._

“Because you're the one thing Dream has a connection to. Without you? He'll break.”

“What?” George tears his eyes from the distant figure to stare at Sam, because why look at Dream when it's going to be all he sees for the rest of his life anyway? “So this is to stop him...breaking?”

There's a low chuckle from Techno as he tightens his grip on George's arm. At this point, George is surprised he hasn't lost all feeling there but it's reduced to a minor annoyance as Techno says, “No George, this is specifically to break him.”

The platform stops, and so does George's heart.

“...George?” The sound of that rasping voice, dry and rough and soft and familiar and not, all at once, has George aching to hold its owner and flee at the same time. They've stopped a short distance from the cell, still above lava, and he can see Dream shifting where he kneels, as though trying to rise but the thick heavy chains around his wrists keep him down. “What's going on?”

“Dream,” George can only manage a whisper as the crushing realisation hits him. They're not going to be sharing a cell. They're not even going to be sharing a prison.

There's movement behind him as Sam shifts and drapes something over George's head. He doesn't get a moment to look as it's tightened around his neck, making him gasp. The noose is tight enough that he struggles for breath already, panic rising once more and this time there is no reassurances from Sapnap to ease it. He pulls at the bindings on his arms, pulls at the hands holding him firmly in place. His uncaring guards hold him steady, no mercy in their cool gazes. From behind him comes the sound of Sapnap, distant and dim against the blood rushing in his ears, but he'd recognise that fury anywhere. Even now Sapnap is fighting for him, calling for him.

George wishes he wouldn't.

Dream rears back as though struck, eyes widening at the noose and immediately starts pulling against his own bindings. His lank hair lashes around him as he heaves and pulls with all his might and yet George can see it's as fruitless as his own struggles. Not even Dream can break netherite. “George! George no! Sam let him go – don't – just leave him – leave him, I'll behave, I swear, I'll – please don't – George!”

George wishes he could see Dream's eyes one last time, the way they're supposed to be, vibrant green and impossibly fond. Instead they're yellow and filled with a blend of fury and terror. Terror for George, for what's about to happen to him. George's cheeks are wet and he knows he's crying and he knows he's afraid for himself, for Sapnap, for Dream, but there's this coldness spreading through his chest and even though he's still struggling, he knows it's pointless.

“If you touch him I'll kill you Sam, I swear!” The faint roar of Sapnap's fury reaches George as he feels the platform shift beneath him but his eyes remain locked on Dream, watching him start to tremble.

“Dream, I l-” The floor moves, his arms are released, and he falls.

“GEORGE!”

It's not enough to kill him. There's no merciful snap of the neck, no swift end. Instead he hangs there above the scorching lava, twisting slowly in place as his legs kick and seek purchase that doesn't come. Tears stream down his cheeks as he chokes slowly to death, black inching over his vision. He hears Dream roaring in fury, voice echoing oddly in George's head, or maybe it's Sapnap's screams of denial and loss layering over Dream's.

His vision blacks out as he listens to them, to himself choking.

_I didn't say it_ , he thinks wretchedly.  _I didn't say it, I didn't say it, I didn't say it -_

_I didn't -_

**Author's Note:**

> Forgive me fandom I have sinned, it has been -squints- five and a half years since my last fanfiction. And of course I get pulled back into it with Dream SMP and fucking Sunset <3 she's a great enabler and basically said 'hey what if there was a dark timeline-' and basically that was me hooked. I couldn't get the thought out of my head and wrote this in like two hours.
> 
> I do plan on writing more for this fandom, maybe I'll even hop back to my unfinished fics too.


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